Old Jubilation | Avery Brewing Company

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Reviews by MarcGetty:

My local beer store gave me a free six pack of Old Jubilation for the trouble they caused me by screwing up my keg special order (different beer) for two weeks straight. I mentioned that I liked Avery's The Reverend, thus I got this for free to try.

I'm not a huge fan of hoppy beers, but this is pretty good.

Little to no head to speak of, but that is okay with me. Little to no smell, but that is okay with me too. For a thick dark beer it drinks okay as well.

I would not buy another six pack, but then again, this is not my thing. If you like hoppy beers, I would definitely give this one a try.

More User Reviews:

Here comes a 2 month old, Avery Brewing Company Old Jubilation ale! The 2016 version. I was enticed by the winter theme with Christmas being just 5 days away. The alcohol content also may have made my mind up, haha. Looking for something warm, darker, but lighter bodied then some of the heavy porters.. and I found what I was looking for!

Poured from a single can I bought into a pint glass. Dark brown almost completely opaque ale. Small retentive ring around the edge of the glass but no lacing at all pretty much. Head disappeared 2/3 of the way into the beer.

Smell is just like the can promised, mocha, toffee, a little hazelnut/other nuttiness, darker cracker malts, a little chocolate with the malts makes it a really tasty beer, and I don't really drink many darker beers. This reminds me of an extremely quaffable porter. The higher alcohol for an ale is totally hidden, making this beer easy to sneak up on you, and my requests to the beer gods for warmth was fulfilled very quickly.

A pretty unique, medium bodied beer that gives a lot of flavor. Not many hops in it, but a light carbonation reminiscent of an ale that helps it go down smooth and with a bit of lingering malt and caramel/chocolate/toffee. Kind of like a sugary dark coffee with a little bit of cream. Nice, MERRY christmas!

Pours a deep crimson color with not much head to speak of,aroma is on the malty side oranjy with some hints of chocolate but a hint of leafy hop that lingers.Taste has a light soapy quality with nice complexity dry biscuit malt with fruity estures big hit of hops comes thru though in the finish.True to the style a nice balanced complex old ale a very unexpected find here in North Carolina with the alcohol laws the way they are.

Pours a clear, cherry mahogany body with a small, but persistent beige head. Sticky, patch lace is all over the glass as the contents slowly disappear. Even near the finish, the small tan head can be rejuvenated with a slight swirl of the glass.

Aroma is of major maltiness up front. Molasses and dark fruits are all over the place. Figs and dates, some chestnut nuttiness, and some woodsy hops add complexity. An unusual, but pleasant, hops variety is going on here, in the background.

Mouthfeel is full bodied, thick and creamy. Very coating.

Taste is dominated by molasses and dark fruits. Some tart apples and cherries make an occasional foray into the flavor profile. There is a distinct woodsy and earthy character to this, that seems to derive more from the hops than the yeast. There are hints of spruce and allspice in the woodsy background scenery. Enormous complexity here, as each new sip unveils additional and complimentary flavors. Alcohol is noticed only in the aftereffect. The finish is caramel apple, dipped in spiced rum.

Extraordinary complexity of flavors. This strong old ale begs for your friendship, and your time. Spend a pleasant evening with this "ole fellar", and sip the night away with an American classic.

This bold holiday seasonal presents a deep, reddish-mahogany body topped by a frothy light-tan head that holds well and leaves some interesting Brussels lace throughout the glass. The nose is somewhat limited but reveals a sweet grainy malt, some dark fruitiness (raisins, prune), and a touch of floral hoppiness. The body is full with an exceptionally fine carbonation that caresses the tongue before becoming nicely creamy. The flavor is quite rich with a chocolatey note that's entwined with threads of soft dark fruit (raisins, plum, red grape) and balanced by an understated bitterness. The long finish lingers with residual semi-sweet & lightly chocolatey malt, a drying touch of alcohol, some thin hop flavor, and a light bitterness. Very nicely done with alot of character and a very good drinkability despite it's full maltiness and strength.

1/21/17...pours rich mahogany brown with a heady topper of white like foam. Cinnamon spiced malty nose. Raisins, plums, somewhat nutty. Taste is a mellowed malty sweetness with dark fruit layered throughout. Hazelnuts come through. Bittering is scattered. Quite complex and a tasty warmer. Not usually one for Old Ales but this one nailed it.

Pour is dark brown with hints of mahogany, flat head. I love the smell of this beer, I would love to find out what I can cook in my home to make it smell like this; roasted, mocha, toffee. This is similar in style to a porter, but it seems much less malty and has a contradicting sweetness. Great mocha flavor, the mouthfeel is creamy with little carbonation. The 8.3% is well hidden. Truly a drink for the holidays, it warms my throat and is less artificially sweetened than say hot chocolate, with fuller body than coffee. If this ended up under the tree Christmas morning I would be one festive camper..
P.S. I love this ale.

Not sure when this was bottled but I've been holding it personally for at least a year and 3 months, so it's at least 15 months old. Never had it before, but I figure with a bit of time on it is a good way to go with this moderately-high-strength old ale. Served between cellar and room temperature.

Pours a gorgeously-deep ruby red that appears to be very close to brown-black until held to light. Head is slightly tan and builds up to a solid 3-4 fingers before falling to about one-and-a-half, leaving behind adequate sheets of lace as it evaporates. Quite nice looking.

Nose is very deep and evocative with molasses, earthy tobacco, dark treacle, roasted nuts, toffee and bourbon-like notes. Kind of like the definitive "strong dark beer" sampler without much in the way of typical "roasty" malt character (not much coffee, chocolate or acridity for instance), all in one beer. Very, very nutty. Hazelnut is notable, as the label foretold, but I also get roasted chestnut and almond as well. Apropos of the winter season, which we are thankfully about to leave behind, hopefully for good this time.

Some chocolate on the tongue, but it's mainly swept away by residual sugar notes of blackstrap molasses, slight fig or prune-based jam/dark fruit, a wisp of smokiness and a dusty yeast note. Less nutty on the palate, instead opting for a more traditional malty English strong ale focus. Quite warming as expected; this is basically like an "enhanced Winter Warmer" with no spices and more deft malt composition to make up for the lack of adjunct flavors. In that sense, this is very nice.

Light carbonation with medium-heavy body. Slightly oily and viscous; pretty chewy and carries itself across the tongue well. Not dry but not watery or too thick either. A nice middling palate that lingers with tobacco and earthy tones until the very end.

Turns out this is quite good with some time on it. Glad I randomly saved a bottle I got. I don't think I've ever had it fresh, so I'll add that to my requirements for the 2016/2017 winter season!

On tap:
A clear auburn, brown with red leanings. Head is a faded beige, and covers the surface. Lacing is sheets, with some sparseness providing a wave-like pattern.

Nose is earthy with light dark fig and ripe dark cherry.

First sip has an almost smoky malt hitting me. Similar to a scotch ale to open, a smoke-like aspect hits me before the hops come on to bring an earthy note. Cherry rises from an amber malt earth, lightly woody aspect to the hops. Dates and a tingle of alcohol weave in and out.

Medium to a bit above, the beer does fill the entire palate. Digging the bitterness that finishes this earthy beer that is neither overly complex nor very simple.

Appearance  Murky dark brown in color with a nice brown head that went down slowly and pooled on top of the liquid.

Smell  I couldnt get much from this until it sat, but the aroma is malty in nature with a big cocoa powder influence. Theres some (kind of minty) spicing in there and some serious sugar of sorts. Also, Id swear there were some big time hops in this brew.

Taste  The peppermint comes out more at the taste, nicely complimenting the huge, darkish malt backbone. There definitely is a hop balance here, strongly supported by some quality raw sugars.

Mouthfeel  Very creamy and a bit fluffy in the mouth. This one is a bit over medium and actually has a touch of dryness (somehow  dont ask me).

Drinkability  This has winter warmer written all over it. It harkens back to memories of log fires, Christmas trees, and frosty window panes. Youll want to sip this hearty ale for sure.

A - Pours a fantastic clear red/mahogany withone finger f creamy off-white head. Head has very good retention but doesn't leave much lacing.

S - Very malty, with caramel, toffee and chocolate. Very slight bubblegum aroma. Bottle says there are no spices, but I do get a small spice aroma as well.

T - Taste is similarly malty, though with an oaky dryness both up front and on the finish. Lots of dark chocolate and toffee. Some hops that were hop apparent in the aroma. Has a bitterness that doesn't really seem to work.

M - Medium mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side for the style. Finishes dry and bitter.

O - A pretty good brew, but probably not one I'd come back to. Has elements of and old ale, but I don't think I would have thought of it as such with a blind tasting.

Aromas of citrus and caramel. This rolls into a tea-like caramel/toffee malty flavor that has citrus, spice (cinnamon?), and chocolate around the edges - very, very good. For some reason a hint of mint (due to the hops & spice, if any spice is actually used?) appears in the finish - not a bad thing, and sets the flavor of this one apart. The alcohol is very well controlled. Nicely done.

The Old Jubilation poured a dark reddish-brown with a medium head that quickly went down to a nice lacing and collar. It had a very appealing citrusy, malt smell. It had a big malt taste with some citrus tones that was nicely balanced with a slightly hoppy finish. Overall, a very nice, highly drinkable holiday brew.

No dating. Poured out a clear and dark, rubied at the edge with just a dusting of light, white cloudiness floating across the top and edges. Dark scents of coffee, chocolate, and hoppiness. Perfect amount of carbination IMHO, just a bit of it in there. Tastes of burnt toast, black coffee, dark chocolate. Nice hoppiness to it. Darkness, dark caramelly sweetness... .very good. Leaves tons of flavor in your mouth after each sip. Nicely drinkable for those who head to the beers with alot of flavor, stout/porter lovers. Very enjoyable one.

Chosen from the list of "beers for men" at the FlatRock in Manyunk, how freakin' funny!